Railway-track appliance.



No. 786,919. PATENTED APR. 11, 1905. O. A. SANBORN.

RAILWAY TRACK APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. B, 1904.

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r I I UNITED STATES Patented. April 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

OORA SANBORN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAILWAY-TRACK APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,919, dated April 11, 1905.

Application filed February 8, 1904. Serial No. 192,682.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, 001m A. SANBoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Track Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway-track appliances, and has reference more particularly to a means for securely clamping or bonding the rails to prevent spreading of the latter, for accurately gaging the distance between them, and for bracing the rails against overturning, the device being capable of performing any of these functions or all of them combined.

The present invention is generally similar in subject-matter to the device disclosed and claimed in Letters Patent N 0. 744,623, granted to me November 17, 1903,.on a railwayrail clamp, but embodies certain novel features in the nature of improvements upon the aforesaid device.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of two railway rails with my improved clamp applied thereto, the latter being shown partly in side elevation and'partly in broken section. Fig. 2 is a broken plan view showing the railwayrails and the upper surface of two road-bed ties with the clamping device applied between the latter. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the compression or strut member. Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the twin parts which comprise the tension member of the clamp, and Fig. 5 is a perspective group view of the elements of a turnbuckle which unite and draw together the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the rails, and 11 the ties or sleepers of an ordinary railway-track. Disposed transversely between the rails is the compression member of the clamp, consisting of a plate 12, the ends of which rest upon the base-flanges of the rails and abut squarely against the webs of the latter. This plate is longitudinally slotted at its opposite ends, as shown at 13, and at its center is preferably enlarged laterally, as indicated at 14, said enlargement having a central opening 15 of considerable size for a purpose hereinafter described. The tension or tie member of the clamp is composed of a pair of inversely-disposed twin rods, each of which, as more plainly shown in the detail view, Fig. 4, comprises a straight section 16, screw-threaded at its end, as at 17, an intermediate down'wardly-inclined section 18, a short straight section 19, an upwardly and backwardly inclined section 20, and a vertical downwardly-inclined extremity 21, said parts 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21 forming integral continuations of each other in the order named. These twin elements of the tension member are united with the rails and with the compression member 12 in the manner plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2,wherein it will be seen that the portions 18 overlie the intermediate portion of the strut l2, being separated from the latter by a slight space, the inclined portions 18 pass downwardly through the slos 13, the portions 19 underlie the base of the rail, the portions 20 extend upwardly beneath the outer side of the head of the rail, and the vertical extremities 21 extend downwardly in close engagement with the web of the rail. The inner screw-threaded ends of the twin elements of the tension member are united by an internally-threaded turnbuckle 22, which may be provided on either end thereof, if desired, with one or more locknuts 23, said turnbuckle and lock-nuts being disposed directly above the open space 15 in the strut member 12.

The clamp as thus described may be very easily and conveniently applied. In assembling the parts the compression member 12 may be first laid in position and in the building of new track or the renewing of old rails i may constitute a gage in an obvious manner. The twin elements of the tension member are then passed with their screw-threaded ends foremost beneath the rails, the section 16 by a slight inclination of the parts being passed upwardly through the slots 13 and introduced to the opposite ends of the turnbuckle, by the turning up of which latter the parts are drawn together until the members 21 snugly hug the webs of the rails. The opening 15 in the underlying compression-plate l2 affords space for the manipulation of the wrench or other tool applied to the turnbuckle. Continued rotation of the turnbuckle has the effect of very snugly clamping the rails between the outer ends of the tension member and the ends of the compression member, as is obvious, and it will be observed that where the tension and compression members of the clamp are made of sufiicient rigidity no bearing or surface contact of said parts is necessary to the effectiveness of the device. The tension effect of one member is in direct opposition to the compression effect of the other, and the rails are each rigidly held between the cooperating ends of the members, as well as perfectly spaced and tied together against spreading. It will thus be seen that the device as an entirety performs the threefold functions of, first, a rail clamp or bond by virtue of the gripping and uniting effect of the parts; second, a rail-brace by virtue of the described formation of the outer ends of the tension member, and, third, a gage by virtue of the spacing effect of the strut or compression member.

It is obvious that the device as hereinabove described and illustrated might be modified in unimportant details without departing from the principle or lessening any of the benefits of the invention.

I claim- 1. A railway-track appliance of the character described comprising a slotted compression member or strut disposed between the rails and having endwise bearing upon the webs of the latter, and a tension or tie member com' 'irising a pair of twin elements, each of which has a substantially horizontal portion overlying and separated from the strut member, a downwardly-extended portion passing through the slot of said compression member, a substantially horizontal portion underlying the rail and an upwardly and backwardly bent railbrace, said compression and tension members being separated and out of contact throughout, and means uniting and drawing together the meeting ends of said elements, substantially as described.

2. A railway-track appliance of the character described comprising a slotted and apertured compression member or strut disposed between the rails and having endwise hearing upon the webs and base-flanges of the latter, and a tension or tie member comprising a pair of twin rods or bars, each of which comprises successively a threaded straight portion overlying and separated from the strut member, a downwardly-inclincd portion passing through the slot of said compression member, a straight portion underlying the rail and an upwardly and backwardly bent portion constituting a rail-brace, and a turnbuckle uniting the meeting ends of said parts and overlying the aperture of said compression member, substantially as described.

CORA A. SANBORN.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, L. F. MCCREA. 

